1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screw for fastening vinyl siding onto a building so that the installer does not have to attempt to avoid overtightening the screw in the siding. When siding is tightly screwed to a building, the vinyl is prevented from moving relative to the screws that secure the siding as the vinyl expands and contracts with changes in the temperature, thus leading to buckling, warping or breakage of the siding.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the ways that vinyl siding is currently secured to building is to use screws and to screw the siding onto the side of the building. Care must be employed in tightening the screws. If the screw is overtightened, the pressure of the screw can break the vinyl siding as it is tightened. Also, even if the vinyl siding does not break immediately, if the screws are too tightly secured against the siding, this will prevent the vinyl from moving relative to the screw as the vinyl contracts and expands due to fluctuations in the outside temperature. If the vinyl siding is unable to move relative to the screw as it expands and contracts, this can lead to the siding buckling on the building or can cause the siding to be broken or to pull away from the screws.
The present invention addresses this problem by providing a screw with a tapered formed bushing provided on the shaft of the screw adjacent to and spaced slightly apart from the head of the screw. This screw captures the vinyl siding between the tapered bushing and the head of the screw when the screw is employed to secure the siding to a building. The screw of the present invention allows the installer to secure vinyl siding to a building so that the vinyl siding can expand and contract on the building. The screw of the present invention also allows the vinyl siding to move relative to the screw, without the installer having to spend a great deal of time and effort in avoiding overtightening the screw as the vinyl siding is being installed.
3. Description of the Related Art
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/169,251, filed on Dec. 6, 1999. Applicant requests that a copy of that Provisional Application be placed in the file wrapper for the present application by the U.S. Patent Office.
The inventor is also the inventor and owner of U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,789 entitled xe2x80x9cNail with Tapered Formed Bushingxe2x80x9d which issued on May 16, 2000 for a related invention.
The present invention is a screw with a tapered formed bushing provided on the shaft of the screw adjacent to and spaced apart from a head of the screw. The tapered formed bushing is frusto-conical with its smaller flat face being oriented toward the pointed end of the screw and with its larger flat face being oriented toward the head of the screw. In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the larger flat face of the tapered formed bushing is parallel with the lower surface of the head of the screw. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the larger flat face of the tapered formed bushing lies in a plane that forms an acute angle with the lower surface of the head of the screw.
The screw of the present invention is employed to secure vinyl siding to a building. The pointed end of the screw is inserted through the center of a screw slot provided in an edge of the siding and the screw is screwed into the wall sheathing. The pointed end of the screw may be either a self-taping drill bit or a sharp point for steel studs, red iron, or wooden studs. The wall sheathing may be constructed of plywood, wallboard or other suitable building material. Before the screw is screwed tightly against the vinyl siding, the siding is popped or snapped over the tapered formed bushing so that the slot of the siding is placed between the lower surface of the head of the screw and the larger flat face of the tapered formed bushing. Then the screw is further tightened until the smaller flat face of the tapered formed bushing encounters the wall sheathing. When the smaller flat face of the tapered formed bushing encounters the wall sheathing, the installer will feel resistance when he attempts to tighten the screw further and will stop tightening. In this position, the screw is properly placed to hold the siding, but because the slot is located between the head of the screw and the tapered formed bushing, the vinyl is movably secured to the sheathing by the screw.
In the second embodiment of the present invention, the larger flat face of the tapered formed bushing allows for easier admission of the slot over the tapered formed bushing, thus making it easier to place the siding between the head of the screw and the bushing. This second embodiment also makes it easier to remove the siding from between the head of the screw and the bushing without damage to the siding should it become necessary to remove the siding from the wall.